Basic Information on Long Hair Extensions You Can't Afford to Miss

A large women population cannot grow long and thick hair naturally but always dream of it. But there is a solution for this, stop feeling disappointed and try out long hair extensions. Find out more about these extensions.

HairGlamourista Staff

Last Updated: Aug 22, 2018

On an average, human hair grows at the rate of 1 cm per month. It means that to have a 'long cascading mane', you would have to wait for at least 5 - 6 years. Thanks to the latest advancements in hair styling, extensions are available easily.

With extensions, you can fulfill your dream of 22 inches long and thick hair in a few hours and that too in your desired color and texture. Before knowing whether an extension would look right on you, you should learn something about these commercial hair.

Types of Extensions

The two most popular types of hair extensions are individual strands and wefts. The basis of distinction are the techniques for application.

Individual Strands

The first method of artificial hair integration is the individual strand integration, which involves applying 30 - 50 strands of commercial hair to a small section of your own hair.

This is done by first coating your hair with a chemical substance and then bonding the commercial hair by any of these methods- weaving, gluing, heat fusing, using waxes or polymers, or clamping with metal rods. Such extensions generally last for only a few months and have to be removed and integrated again.

The process of removal is very crucial and must be done by an expert, as the chances of damage are maximum.

Wefts

Wefts are described as curtains of hair that are attached to the hair at the top of the head and are left free to cascade down. In order to integrate a weft in your hair, it is first cut into different vertical sections. This eases the task of weft application. Your hair is divided into two parts by a horizontal line at the top of your scalp.

At the start of the part following the back, braids are made and the sections of weft are sown along with them. The part flowing on the forehead is combed back so that the hair runs and covers the braids. Such braid hairstyles are popularly known as tracks. Once integrated, they remain in this way for a few months.

As your hair grow about 1 cm every month, the weft-sections will lose their intact positions. It is necessary to reposition them. For this, you will have to visit your hair stylist for undoing and redoing the weft.

A weft can be either handmade or machine made. The former comes at a higher price than the latter. Still, it is advisable to go for a handmade one as it can be made in a way that it matches with your hair color naturally. A weft is generally made from good quality hair.

Types of Hair in Long Hair Extensions

In both the mentioned types of extensions, the hair used is either synthetic or natural human hair. The synthetic type is made from human or synthetic fibers.

Some examples of synthetic fibers are kanekalon and toyokalon. The Synthetic type is cheaper than the human hair and is available in a wide range of colors and textures.

Human hair is the naturally grown hair of some individual and therefore, is differentiated as per ethnicity. The general categories includes, Asian, European, and Russian.

The Asian type is coarse and very dark in color. Must be used only on Asian hair.

The European type, soft, straight or wavy, is durable.

The Russian type is considered to be the best in the business of commercial hair. They don't treat their hair with any chemicals or other styling agents.

Therefore, the Russian type is also called raw or virgin hair and thus, is more suitable for coloring and perming purposes. However, the cost is a bit too much.

The best option will be to go for the European type as it is good in quality and easy on the pocket. Moreover, hair imported to United States must be processed and boiled to meet the USA import standards for commercial hair. So, no hair (even Russian) remains virgin in the States.

Hair Care

The most important thing that you should never forget is to frequently wash your scalp, especially in between the braids or tracks so as to avoid any bacterial or fungal growth. Keep this area clean.